Recently Daniel G. Amen, M.D. scanned Kim Kardashian brain using SPECT & I had to ask why the medical community does not recommend these scans to make psychiatric diagnoses. 🙏🏼🧠 Check out the full conversation on The Checkup Podcast 🎙️

@DocAmen @KimKardashian As someone who proclaims he is THE leader in the field, he seems stunned and unsure how to answer relatively easy questions.

@DocAmen @KimKardashian The days of unscientific “Doctors” peddling unconfirmed and unreliable treatments must come to an end.

@DocAmen @KimKardashian He needs to be able to get scans from ppl w/ Condition X, Condition Y, and No Condition and be able to say who belongs to which group at the individual level, to be able to do individual diagnostics with scans of any kind. I've not seen this data, and I don't think it exists

@DocAmen @KimKardashian Imaging uses a reference standard so it’s a deviation from the standard model that you compare it to, same with X-rays and ultrasound Either you cut out where he treats conditions or are putting forward a pointless point - as it appears What’s missing here?

@DocAmen @KimKardashian Thank you so much for doing this! I couldn't believe it when I saw it going viral. This should basically be treated as fraud.

@DocAmen @KimKardashian Your question makes no sense in the context of this video. This is a collection of data at this point. Unless I've misunderstood, this is observational, not an intervention. What controls do you anticipate?

@DocAmen @KimKardashian Thank you for pushing back. We need more of this these days. You keep the decorum and class which is important

@DocAmen @KimKardashian I get huge grifter energy from Amen. Never seems like he's reporting the science diligently. Dr Mike is the first to actually push back and Amen has no good answers to very important questions.

@DocAmen @KimKardashian Great questions. No answers

@DocAmen @KimKardashian Goes to show how wasteful the maha movement actually is..

interesting hypothesis from a man who has become extremely wealthy on his premise that SPECT helps treat brain health (a term I actually like). But why was it so hard for Dr. Amen to say "yeah, a RCT would be great, it should be done, and the more RCTs, the better." If SPECT is accurate, there would be a cold area somewhere in Dr. Amen's brain with regards to understanding the importance of hypothesis testing, trying to remove confounders, and better establish cause and effect. I suspect there is just far too much bias and personal interest in his hypothesis to go there.

@DocAmen @KimKardashian I don't understand the clip. Are research findings about brain activity being discussed here? Or are treatments being discussed here? The clip makes the researcher look dumb without clarifying that. Looks like a setup Dr. Mike.. no bueno.

@DocAmen @KimKardashian Interesting question indeed. Maybe it is the cost and there isn't a billing code for that to get reimbursed for.

@DocAmen @KimKardashian Interesting thought. Does so much imaging data even need a randomized control study? Does a nature photographer need to take pictures of random small mammals in order to determine if the picture he took before is a squirrel? Maybe he does?

@DocAmen @KimKardashian I've always thought when brain imaging is done to the patient.. the whole goal is to see what is going on with the patient's brain and find some kind of means of finding the right kind of help for them.

@DocAmen @KimKardashian I mean.. him and the Kardashians...and how they easily dupe people and are constantly introducing the public to a bunch of hacks. That correlation is more interesting and telling. Snake oil and all....

@DocAmen @KimKardashian So did the Doctor Who was asking the questions take the Covid vaccine because there were no randomized trials done for that!

Great Interview, Dr. Mike! I loved your gentle pressure on your guest's arguments! Amen is a doctor/businessman who keeps saying "If we don't look, we can't see", yet he has no randomized controlled data or studies he can point to in order to confirm his theories (except for his own). He's not a scientist, yet acts like one. The better expert to listen to for brain health and how it affects the body and the mind is @ChrisPalmerMD

@DocAmen @KimKardashian She’s basically retarded lmao 🤡🌎

@DocAmen @KimKardashian @TappedCall

@DocAmen @KimKardashian I think we can say with confidence that the scan was correct in her case.

@DocAmen @KimKardashian Borderline pseudoscience🤦🏽‍♂️

The only thing I wonder is if they haven’t been any randomized control trials how do we know if it really doesn’t work. The American psychiatric Association says there’s no proven evidence, but they haven’t done any randomized control trials to determine it. Grok- Major organizations like the American Psychiatric Association (APA) have repeatedly stated that evidence does not support routine use of SPECT (or other functional neuroimaging) for psychiatric diagnosis or treatment planning. In position statements (e.g., 2005 for children/adolescents, and later reviews up to 2018), the APA concludes that neuroimaging lacks clinical utility beyond ruling out rare neurological issues (e.g., tumors). This consensus discourages academic researchers, universities, and funding bodies (e.g., NIH) from prioritizing RCTs, as the technique is viewed as investigational or premature for psychiatry. Critics argue that psychiatric diagnoses rely effectively on clinical history and symptoms, without needing expensive imaging that exposes patients to radiation. High Costs and Logistical Challenges A proper RCT would require: - Randomizing hundreds of patients to SPECT-guided vs. standard care. - Blinding (difficult with scans). - Long-term follow-up for outcomes like symptom remission or quality of life. SPECT scans cost $3,000–$4,000 each (often two per patient: rest and concentration), plus analysis. Funding such trials is prohibitive without strong preliminary evidence or industry backing. Ethical concerns arise over exposing a control group to radiation unnecessarily or withholding scans if believed beneficial. These barriers make RCTs infeasible for most researchers.

@DocAmen @KimKardashian The point of a brain SPECT is to see what might be causing the mental symptoms. Is it a brain injury, dementia, etc or is it just anxiety or depression. These are all different causes and each treated differently. Anxiety and depression is more easily treated.

@DocAmen @KimKardashian Mike you’re such a dick man

@DocAmen @KimKardashian What is the causal link you’re looking for? It’s a diagnostic tool, not a treatment. It seems like the only data you would want is how accurately it diagnoses vs. an average doctor

@DocAmen @KimKardashian none of that was done in Covid research but that never stopped us from trusting science eh

@DocAmen @KimKardashian Sorry,but this is a big misunderstanding. People with braindamage were diagnosed based on the symptoms they were showing. Then, their brains were scanned and in these scans similar patterns were discovered between people with similar symptoms. And that was published.

@DocAmen @KimKardashian Randomized controlled trials for imagining aren’t ethical. You wouldn’t withhold an X-ray from someone … This is the dumbest line of “gotcha” bullshit I’ve seen A really disingenuous way of interviewing. Cringe

@DocAmen @KimKardashian Kim has a fart brain. It’s full of farts.

@DocAmen @KimKardashian Because measuring blood flow doesn’t show pattern of brain function, correct me if I’m wrong but it only shows temporary blood flow in a temporary state? Wouldn’t energy imaging be more reliable??

@DocAmen @KimKardashian Good interview but all your concerns about supplements, liver injury, heavy metals, inconsistent levels of ingredients are just as true of mainstream pharmaceutical products. Heavy metals in vaccines. Tylenol- liver injury. Generics can have 80% - 125% of the brand-name product.

I wanted to help out DrAmen with an example of an RCT for SPECT Randomized Controlled Trial (RCT) Protocol Title: A Multicenter, Double-Blind, Randomized Controlled Trial Evaluating the Efficacy of SPECT-Guided Treatment Compared to Standard Psychiatric Care in Patients with Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) and Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) Objective
To determine whether treatment plans guided by brain SPECT imaging (as practiced at Amen Clinics) improve clinical outcomes compared to treatment guided by conventional psychiatric assessment without neuroimaging. Primary Endpoint
Change in symptom severity at 24 weeks, measured by: •For MDD: Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAM-D-17) •For ADHD: Adult ADHD Self-Report Scale (ASRS) or Conners’ Adult ADHD Rating Scale Secondary Endpoints •Remission rates (HAM-D ≤ 7 or ASRS < 17) •Quality of life (WHOQOL-BREF) •Adverse events •Cost-effectiveness •Treatment satisfaction (Patient Global Impression of Improvement) Study Design •Multicenter (≥ 6 sites in the US and/or Europe) •Double-blind (patients and outcome assessors blinded; treating clinicians not blinded) •Parallel-group, 1:1 randomization •Duration: 24 weeks of active treatment + 12-week follow-up Participants
Inclusion Criteria •Age 18–65 years •Primary diagnosis of MDD (DSM-5) or ADHD (DSM-5) confirmed by structured clinical interview (SCID-5) •Moderate-to-severe symptoms at baseline •No prior SPECT imaging or known contraindications to SPECT (e.g., pregnancy, severe claustrophobia) Exclusion Criteria •Active substance use disorder •Psychotic disorder •Current suicidal ideation requiring hospitalization •Prior SPECT-guided treatment at Amen Clinics •Contraindications to SPECT radiation exposure Sample Size •Power calculation: 80% power to detect a 3-point difference in HAM-D (SD 7) or 5-point difference in ASRS (SD 10) at α = 0.05 •Target N = 400 (200 per arm), allowing for 20% dropout Randomization and Blinding •Computer-generated, stratified by diagnosis (MDD vs. ADHD) and site •Allocation concealed •Treating clinicians receive either: ◦SPECT-guided report (intervention arm) ◦Sham report (control arm: generic psychiatric recommendations without imaging data) Intervention
Intervention Arm (SPECT-guided) •Brain SPECT scan (resting and concentration conditions) •Interpretation by board-certified nuclear medicine physician trained in Amen Clinics protocol •Treatment plan based on Amen’s seven-subtype model (e.g., over-focused ADHD, anxious ADHD, etc.) •Recommendations include specific medications, supplements, and lifestyle interventions Control Arm (Standard Care) •Comprehensive psychiatric evaluation (no imaging) •Treatment plan based on DSM-5 diagnosis and evidence-based guidelines (APA, AACAP, NICE) •Same medication and therapy options available, but without subtype-specific guidance from SPECT Procedures 1Screening and baseline assessment 2Randomization 3SPECT scan (intervention arm only; control arm undergoes sham scan or no scan) 4Treatment initiation (week 0) 5Follow-up visits at weeks 4, 8, 12, 16, 20, 24, and 36 6Standardized outcome assessments by blinded raters Statistical Analysis •Intention-to-treat with last-observation-carried-forward •Primary analysis: ANCOVA comparing change scores, adjusting for baseline severity and site •Secondary analyses: logistic regression for remission, mixed-effects models for repeated measures •Pre-specified subgroup analyses: MDD vs. ADHD, age, sex, comorbidities Ethical Considerations •IRB approval at all sites •Informed consent emphasizing experimental nature of SPECT-guided care and radiation exposure (~3–5 mSv per scan) •Data Safety Monitoring Board •Registration on prior to enrollm